


Like fireworks, maybe

by mrs_leary (julie)



Category: Merlin (TV) RPF
Genre: First Kiss, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-08
Updated: 2011-08-08
Packaged: 2017-10-22 09:55:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/236795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/julie/pseuds/mrs_leary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Bradley enlists Colin's help in planning a surprise birthday party for Eoin, and Colin is confused.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like fireworks, maybe

**Author's Note:**

> A very belated but heartfelt birthday pressie for **adelagia** – who prompted 'B/C and organizing a surprise party'. Sorry to have taken so long, hon! ♥

♦

### Plan A

It began on the first of February. Bradley called that morning while Colin was still a bit bleary round the edges as a result of the night before. ‘’lo,’ he managed to mutter into the phone, more for the sake of silencing the ringtone than wanting to actually communicate with anyone.

‘Col! Good, you’re there. I’m going to throw a surprise birthday party for Eoin, and as of today, we’ve got three weeks to organise it.’

Colin had taken in a few words of that, but they floated randomly around in the general fuzziness, refusing to sort themselves back into order. ‘What?’

‘A _surprise birthday party_ , Colin,’ Bradley repeated, ‘in only three weeks. We’re gonna have to get cracking.’

Colin sighed – and horribly creakily rolled over onto his back. Squinted up at the bedroom ceiling which, judging by the angle of light across it, indicated that the morning was mostly gone already. Things were slowly starting to come clear. ‘Surprise…’ he whispered with a dry mouth. He frowned for good measure. ‘Does anyone even _do_ that anymore?’

‘Course they do,’ Bradley stoutly replied. ‘For their friends. You know: _good_ friends. _Particular_ friends.’

‘Right,’ he vaguely agreed.

But then Bradley fell prey to sudden doubt. ‘Or they do in England, anyway. Don’t they do that in Ireland? I mean, won’t he like it?’

‘I’m sure Eoin will love it, Bradley,’ Colin reassured him – before belatedly realising he’d just committed himself.

‘Good.’ Bradley was back to brisk cheerfulness. ‘My place, on the twenty–first, all right? It’s a Monday, so he’s never gonna suspect anything.’

‘No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!’

‘Quite. So, get your thinking cap on, Morgan, and we’ll hold a strategy meeting as soon as feasible. All right?’

Colin mumbled something encouraging.

‘Excellent. I’ll be in touch!’

Blessed silence returned. Colin groaned, and rolled back over to tuck the phone safely away under the mattress and bury his face in the pillow.

♦

### Strategy Meeting

‘I’ve got an agenda,’ Bradley announced, smoothing out a crumpled page of an old _Merlin_ script on the pub table. The paper immediately developed a circular damp spot in one corner, but Bradley was not fazed. ‘Item one –’

‘Um,’ said Colin, hastily swallowing his first mouthful of Kilkenny. ‘Shouldn’t we wait for the others before we get started?’

Bradley favoured him with a pitying look. ‘We’re all present and correct, Morgan.’

Colin tried to hide his dawning horror. ‘It’s just us…?’

‘Who else do we need? I’m the, um, producer–director, and you’re the technical advisor.’

‘ _Technical_ advisor…?’

‘Well, you know –’ Bradley’s gaze edged away for a moment. ‘He’s Irish. _You’re_ Irish. So you’re –’

‘I get the picture.’ Colin took another long swallow of Kilkenny, and sighed. ‘Look, Eoin’s just a regular bloke, isn’t he? It’s not like he won’t just want all the regular things.’

Bradley was considering him intently. ‘Which are…?’

Colin shrugged. ‘Beer, maybe. Plenty of beer.’

‘Good. This is good.’ Bradley was actually scribbling this down. ‘See why I need you? What _kind_ of beer?’

‘Um… Well, just the usual range, I suppose. And some Guinness, maybe. Under the circumstances.’

‘Exactly. Yes. And what’s that you’re drinking?’

‘Kilkenny.’

‘That’s Irish, then.’

‘Yes.’

Which got jotted down, too.

‘Um. Bradley… Aren’t you taking this a mite seriously?’

Bradley shook his head, jaw set stubbornly. ‘It’s for Eoin. You know?’ And no matter how cleverly or persistently he pried, Colin received no better explanation.

♦

### Emeralds

‘We’ll need a theme,’ Bradley whispered urgently.

‘What?’ Colin responded in normal tones.

‘For the party. We’ll need a theme for the party.’

‘Oh, the party. Right.’ Colin sighed, and glanced once more round the mid–afternoon gathering of the new season’s _Merlin_ people, wondering who might come and rescue him from the corner into which Bradley had dragged him. Unfortunately it seemed that everyone was bent on ignoring them; they might call this tact, but right now Colin thought of it as sheer bloody–mindedness.

‘So it has to be green, right? The theme?’

‘I like green,’ Colin commented inconsequentially.

‘ _I know_ ,’ Bradley replied significantly.

Colin eyed him for a moment or two, beginning to wonder about the guy’s sanity.

‘So it has to be green, and clover, and – and, um, shamrocks. What are shamrocks…?’

‘Four–leaf clover.’

‘What’s clover, then?’

‘Three–leaf clover. _Look_ , Bradley,’ Colin insisted, ‘I don’t know what this is all about really, but –’

‘And emeralds,’ Bradley babbled on, looking a bit panicked. ‘The Emerald Isle, right? What’s that about? D’you, like, mine them or something…?’

‘It’s cos of all the bright green grass.’

Bradley’s brow wrinkled in astonishment. ‘Not the jewels, then?’

‘No, Bradley.’

‘Oh.’ He sounded horribly disappointed.

Colin couldn’t help himself; he laughed. ‘What would you do with emeralds as a theme, anyway? It’s not like you’re gonna be buying Eoin jewellery for a present, are you.’

‘Um. No.’

Colin blinked. ‘ _Are_ you?’

‘No!’

God, this was getting weirder and weirder. ‘Well,’ said Colin, scrambling for reason or what might pass for it, ‘why don’t you go with a four–leaf clover for the theme? No harm in that.’

‘And it’s lucky, yeah? It brings luck?’

‘Yeah. Absolutely.’ It took him a moment to remember, but Colin was soon stumbling on. ‘The four leaves stand for faith, hope, love and luck.’

‘And the greatest of these is love,’ Bradley solemnly intoned.

Colin eyed the guy wildly for a moment. And then he turned. ‘Did you hear that? I think Katie just called for me. Better go, or she’ll – Um, catch you in a bit, right?’

‘Right,’ Bradley glumly agreed.

And Colin got out of there like the coward he was. He tried to convince Katie to take over for him as Bradley’s technical advisor, but she was too wise to be having any of that.

♦

### #1 Crush

On the afternoon of the twentieth, Colin opened his front door to find Bradley in his hallway with a panicked look in his eyes. ‘Music,’ Bradley blurted before Colin could even say hello. ‘I can’t believe we haven’t sorted out the music already.’

‘Hello, Bradley,’ Colin offered long–sufferingly, opening the door wide and standing aside to let the man in. ‘Come in, Bradley.’

‘Irish stuff, yeah? What do Irish guys like? U2…?’

‘Coffee, tea, or something stronger?’

‘Tea, thanks. Hey, d’you mainly drink tea or coffee in Ireland? But, Colin, what d’you think about the music…? I can’t believe I left it so late!’

He sighed as Bradley trailed him through to the kitchen. ‘We’ll put a playlist together, all right?’ Colin said as soothingly as he was able. ‘It’ll be fine.’

‘Oh, good. That’s good. Thanks, Col!’ Bradley turned and headed back to the front room, on a mission. After a moment he called, ‘What’s with all the CDs? No one has this many CDs anymore.’

Colin grinned to himself. ‘Yeah, I know. You’re just lucky I’m not into vinyl!’

‘Death Cab for Cutie, eh? Guess there’ll be lots of them on the playlist.’

‘Fine by me, but they’re not Irish.’

‘Oh.’

Colin walked back through with a mug of tea for Bradley – hot, white and sweet – and coffee for himself – black and strong. He put them on the table, booted up his computer, and then started sorting through the CDs, quickly collecting a small pile of them. He foresaw a long afternoon of ripping tracks, and Bradley listening to them, and both of them arranging it all into some kind of order. Shaping their Monday evening via the ebb and flow of their playlist. A long afternoon of hanging out with Bradley. Something he had never minded, despite all Bradley’s remarks about how tiresome people found him after the first ten minutes. Colin smiled at the man as he sat down by the computer, and inserted the first disc. Bradley slid into the seat beside him, and offered Colin a surprisingly shy smile in response.

Which prompted Colin to finally ask, ‘Why does this matter so much to you?’

‘What?’ Bradley’s shyness disappeared in a sudden attack of wariness.

‘This party for Eoin. Why d’you care so much?’

‘I don’t,’ Bradley said faintly, staring with great interest at the nearest CD cover.

‘Yeah, you do,’ Colin gently persisted. ‘You’ve been trying so hard to get it right for him…’

A liquid flash from those blue sky blue eyes.

The answer belatedly dawned on Colin. ‘You’ve got a bit of a thing for Eoin,’ he gently surmised.

‘I do not.’

‘It’s all right if you do. I mean, anyone would, wouldn’t they?’

Bradley spluttered. ‘I know it’s all right. I mean, it would be if I did. But I don’t!’

‘He’s got this whole gentleman–rogue thing going on… Tender and rough, smooth and strong… Have to admit, I’m a bit partial to him myself.’

‘Stop it!’ Bradley pleaded. His blush was _incandescent_.

Behave, Colin admonished himself. Don’t tease the poor straight guy suffering through a man crush.

‘Col –’

‘All right, all right, I’m sorry.’

‘No, don’t be. Col –’

‘Here, listen to this. This ’d get any party started…’

Bradley turned his attention back to the computer with a sense of mingled relief and reluctance.

Well, Colin thought. If the straight guy ever wanted to consult the gay guy about man crushes, he knew where to come.

But all they talked about for the rest of the afternoon was music.

♦

### Surprise!

On the evening itself, Bradley had cast any doubts aside and was back to his usual fine form. He was pretty much bubbling over with good cheer, and he kept Colin by his side through all the mad preparations, even taking Colin’s hand at one point and dragging him off to check on the food, to make sure that the vegetarian options were acceptable.

Bradley’s wide smile was infectious to the point where Colin was starting to feel a bit giddy even before he’d broached the keg of Guinness… Their friends and Eoin’s friends were gathering in plenty of time, and everyone was already happy, perhaps for Bradley’s sake, definitely for Eoin’s. And the whole thing was just really so silly – honestly, _no one_ threw throw surprise parties anymore… But maybe that was why everyone was so excitable. It was like they were all kids again, or something.

Rupert had been deputised to bring Eoin over at about eight, under whatever fictive excuse he cared to use – so as the time drew near they all started grabbing another drink to last them through the wait, and finding hiding places, turning off lights. Bradley grabbed Colin’s hand in his again, and dragged him round behind the sofa where there was hardly room for even one of them, but Colin hardly minded that, it would only be for a few minutes anyway cos Rupert could be relied on to be prompt – and already there was the sound, loud in the expectant hush, of the heavy door closing at the far end of the external hallway, and two sets of footsteps – it might be them. It might be them!

Bradley collapsed to sit on the floor, still holding Colin’s hand so that Colin was forced to follow him, to fold down until he sat cross–legged facing Bradley. Colin couldn’t help giggling, he just couldn’t help it – and Bradley was bright–eyed, and half giggly, half disapproving. ‘Shush,’ he admonished, pursing his lips, as Colin couldn’t quit even as those footsteps drew closer – and yes, that was Rupert’s murmur and Eoin’s laugh… It was them!

And Bradley’s gaze flickered to Colin’s mouth, which still curved in a mischievous smile – Colin felt another laugh burble out of him – and Bradley leaned forward. For a moment they rested forehead to forehead while Bradley hushed him again – but Colin was definitely suffering a fit of mirth, and would not be stopped – except by something shocking, perhaps, something daring – for Bradley pushed forward again, tilting in to press his mouth against Colin’s as if that were the only way he could think of to stifle the laughter –

And it worked of course. A still moment welled between them, Colin’s heart stuttered for a moment, and then beat strong as if it knew better than he did – he tentatively parted his lips, and if necessary he could claim later that he was only going to try to say something – but Bradley took that as invitation, and shakily started a clumsy one–sided kiss – which Colin hastened to answer, and it wasn’t only about saving his friend the embarrassment of not receiving a response, Colin knew that already, it wasn’t only about being kind. It wasn’t about being kind at all.

They settled into it surprisingly quickly, in that dark quiet hush, hidden away there just the two of them behind the sofa. Colin pushed further forward, anchoring himself with a hand wrapped strong around Bradley’s thigh – Bradley gasped into the kiss at his touch – and that’s when Colin realised he’d gotten something very wrong indeed. The kiss settled and then deepened. Colin could feel Bradley’s warmth, and he pushed closer still, wanting that, wanting to feel that from top to toe, and he was actually beginning to unfold his legs without breaking the kiss, wanting to lay Bradley down right there on the floor and stretch along his length, his warmth, press himself into it – the kiss heated now, Bradley trembling with nerves but enthusiastic, and there was something about the way Bradley didn’t push forward now, the way he didn’t resist, the way he was eager and open, that made Colin think Bradley wanted to be laid down…

The kiss grew to be all hunger, an intense mix of certainty and confusion, and it was going right to Colin’s head, making him hard, making him giddy – he’d never felt a first kiss like it, it was extraordinary, surely that must mean something, that they just meshed right away – and he got to his knees, leaning over Bradley, cupping his face in both hands – Bradley moaning in surrender, arching up to him – and an explosion of light and noise went off, like fireworks, maybe, apparently it was true what they said about the fireworks – Bradley’s hands settling either side of his waist, shaking with need… and he was drawing Colin down with him, Colin was sure of it, Bradley was inviting him down, surrendering…

Silence.

Bradley suddenly stilled, and there was this bright empty silence resounding about them.

Colin glanced up – and then at last broke the kiss, gazed back up at their friends and a few strangers all standing around staring, and leaning to see over the back of the sofa. In particular, Eoin’s arms were crossed, and he looked rather severe.

‘Um… Surprise!’ Colin offered with a chagrined smile.

Bradley was blushing too hard to raise his head.

‘Right,’ said Eoin. ‘Surprise party, eh?’

‘Yeah,’ Colin confirmed, while Bradley nodded vigorously, his fine hair shifting deliciously. Colin tore himself away from such contemplations. ‘Er… Happy birthday?’ he offered.

Eoin remained unimpressed. But after a moment he demanded, ‘So, where’s the beer?’

‘Kitchen,’ Colin promptly replied. ‘ _Kegs_ of it.’

‘Good man.’ It seemed Eoin was prepared to relent. He waved a vague hand towards the space now separating Colin and Bradley. ‘Don’t mind us. We’ll go and see how much beer we can get through. You do… whatever.’

‘Thanks,’ said Colin. Bradley nodded again in a small way, and seemed to sag in Colin’s general direction. Colin caught him up in both arms and held him close. ‘You great eejit, James,’ he grumbled fondly, as the others drifted off towards the beer, and the chatter started buzzing. ‘You great prat! I thought you were hankering for Eoin.’

‘You. Only you.’ Bradley’s hands were clutching at him as if afraid Colin would disappear.

‘Next time, James…’ Colin warned him, ‘be careful what you wish for. Cos you’ve gone and got it now, haven’t you.’

And Bradley suddenly looked up, with the most dazzling smile, and the grip of his hands became light, confident – and infinitely encouraging.

Fireworks, definitely.

♦


End file.
